before your time is up

Thanks for your time Sean! Would you mind telling me a little about yourself and Simon Says Die?

I have been in bands all my life through childhood. I started SSD originally for one show I was asked to book at my bar. I had so much fun I found permanent members and kept it going. SSD focuses on the positive side of life. We don't swear in our music so everyone can listen to us. I had a lot of music thrown away as a kid due to content lol.

That's a pretty cool start for a band. Seems like one of those "I found my calling" things haha awesome! I've been jamming your guys' latest single, "Serpents". I enjoy it, Simon Says Die has an interesting sound. How do you feel SSD's latest single compares to your older tracks?

Thanks man, glad you dig the track. I think "Serpents" is probably our most 'current' track. By that I mean we tried to reach out to the newer generation of Metal with something to bounce to. Our older stuff is a little more straightforward, old school Nu-Metal. I can definitely say for the new album, every song will sound completely different, directionally, than Serpents.

Sounds promising! Do you guys have much written for the new album? And speaking of "direction", what are the band's long-time goals? How about current goals?

We have five of the six songs fully written. We are going to do an EP and follow it with another full length after we tour the EP around. Our long term goals are simple: more time on the road. We have met so many cool people on past tours, and we really want to continue to meet new people. Current goals are to finish our new EP and the filming of our music video for our next single, "Sleep Walker".

Those are respectable goals, I'd say. You're definitely not lacking in motivation. Looking back to the band's inception, what made you guys decide on the band name Simon Says Die? And in terms of music, what were your major influences around that time? (or even currently)

I chose the name Simon Says Die more as a mission statement. When people hear the name, initially they think we're some Death Metal band lol. Simon Says Die means in the game of life (Simon), get everything you can done before your time is up (Says Die)—we're all wired to the clock. Our influences vary from things like Killswitch Engage, A Day To Remember, Thrice, Avenged Sevenfold and more! Pretty much anything with a good melody and some heavy riffs!

Gotcha, I can respect a band who sports a meaningful theme behind their music. Very nice! Avenged Sevenfold was a big influence on me when I was starting off as well. How would you, personally, describe your band's classified subgenre, Metalcore? What does it mean to you and the band, and where do you think it stands in the Metal community as a whole?

To us, Metalcore is anything heavy with a nice melody. I think it's important to touch on as many aspects of music in one song as possible. Metalcore is huge in our community. I feel it is a great bridge to bring non-Metal listeners over.

I can agree with that last statement. I think Metalcore is a great entry point for non-Metal listeners. Whether it was before your time began in the music scene, or during your involvement, were there any specific encounters or moments that really inspired you to keep doing what you do?

The inspiration to move forward has come in many different forms for me, personally. I grew up listening to local Metal and Pop/Punk bands as a kid, as well as being in bands all through high school. During my younger years, seeing the progress that my friends made around me and their bands really inspired me to keep following my passion. I would say the inspiration has turned into something slightly different now. Every so often we get a message from a person that we don't know telling us how much a particular song has helped them through a particularly rough patch in their life. Whether we get one message a year, or one message a week, messages like these are really what drives me to keep moving forward. Even if we don't make it to the big time, I would still be honored to inspire anyone else to keep trying.

To finish up the interview, would you mind listing a few bands/albums you'd recommend us check out?

For sure. Bands to check out are Threat Signal, Sirens And Sailors, Our bros in Reach for Rescue, Of Fact and Fiction, and Ghost Town Grey. This list could go on forever, so I will leave it with that for now.

Have any last words for our readers?

There is plenty of room for everyone to succeed, so focus on helping your fellow artists, rather than competing against them. That, and cats rule!

Love me some kitties! Haha thanks for taking the time to talk, man. It's been good. We'll be seeing you around! Metal On Loud!